Blending apparatus and process



Feb. 2, 1965 J. 5. ECKERT 3,168,293

BLENDING APPARATUS AND PROCESS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 16, 1961 INVENTOR. JOHN S. ECKERT QM M ATTORNEY Feb. 2, 1965 J. 5. ECKERT 3,168,293

BLENDING APPARATUS AND PROCESS Filed June 16, 1961 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

" JOHN S. ECKERT FIG. 6 BY (1%! ATTORNEY United States Patent Ofilice 3,168,293 Iii/ENDING APPARATUS AND IRGCESS 301m S. Ecirert, Siiver Lake, Ghio, assignor to The United States Stoneware t'lompany, Taiimadge, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Filed Qlune 16, I961, Ser. No. 117,536 18 Claims. (65. 259-81) This invention relates to improvements in blending apparatus and the process of blending.

The blending apparatus of this invention is adapted to rotate or oscillate about an axis so that the materials to be blended are poured from a position on one side of a restrictive opening in the apparatus to a position on the other side, and then back again. The blender is relatively fiat on both sides of the opening and the largest cross-sectional dimension of the opening is restricted by being less than the length of each of said relatively flat portions of the blender, so that when the materials are poured through the restrictive opening from one end of the blender to the other they are changed from an elongated mass to a mass the width of the restrictive opening, and then back to an elongated mass. The mass is preferably elongated in different planes on opposite sides of the opening, and in the preferred structure, these planes are at right angles to one another. Preferably, these planes meet in a line that passes perpendicularly through the center of the opening. The opening is preferably circular. In this movement, the materials in the blender are thoroughly blended.

The blender is advantageously formed from a cylindrical drum by flattening one end in one plane and the other end in a plane perpendicular thereto. Such a structure is strong and inexpensive to manufacture. Its interior is free of projections and corners where the material might tend to become lodged. The blender may include agitatmg means.

The blender can be used for the blending of particulate solids, liquids, suspensions, etc. Dilferent phases of different materials, including a gaseous phase can be blended with one another, as well as materials of the same phase. The invention is further described in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which FIG. 1 is a perspective view of one form of the blending apparatus;

FIG. 2 is a vertical longitudinally sectional view taken along the line 2-2 of FIGURE 1;

FIG. 3 is a vertical transverse sectional view taken along the line 3-3 of FIGURE 2;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a modified form of blender;

FIG. 5 is a longitudinally vertical sectional view taken along the line 5-5 of FIGURE 4; and

FIG. 6 is a transverse vertical sectional view taken along the line 6-6 of FIGURE 5.

The invention is not limited to the structural details or the arrangement of parts here shown and described, since an apparatus employing the invention may take various forms.

The blender It) includes a supporting frame 12 comprising an interconnected base 14, upwardly converging side bars 15, braces 16, and coaxial sleeve bearings 17, or any other suitable supporting frame. The housing 20 includes a girt ring 23 welded to its exterior and two end caps 25 to form the mixing chamber 28 (FIGURE 2). Housing 20 was originally circular in cross section throughout the length of its longitudinal axis. Its opposite ends 39 and 31 have each been flattened to an elongated shape, and preferably in angularly displaced relationship about the axis. In the preferred angular displace ment, the respective ends 30 and 31 are elongated in planes at right angles to one another. These planes cross in a line which passes perpendicularly through the cylindrical central opening 32 (FIGURE 2) of the housing.

The caps 25 are secured in covering relation to the respective ends 30 and 31 of the housing in any suitable manner, as by blending. Each cap is dished toward its outlet 36 so that when the housing is up-ended and the outlet 36 is open, the material in the bottom end of the housing is fed by gravity through the outlet. Although outlets 36 have been shown as lying on the longitudinal centerline of the housing, they may be located in any convenient place. They may be of any suitable design and closed with suitable closure means. It is desirable to have an opening at each end of the housing so that after the housing has been emptied through the bottom outlet, this may be closed and the housing can be filled through the top outlet without changing the position of the housing.

The housing 20 is preferably manufactured from a rolled sheet metal cylinder but may be made from a sleeve.

As shown, the housing is easy to fabricate and its .inner 1 surface is free of corners and projections wheresolid particulate material would tend to lodge when the housing is up-ended for emptying.

The coaxial shaft portions 37 do not pass through the housing, but are welded to the girt ring 23 (FIGURE 3) for imparting rotary motion to the housing. An impediment to the free flow of the materials through the blender may be located between the shaft portions to facilitate blending. Alternatively, by attaching a vertically reciprocating shaft to one end of the housing, the blending can be eifected by oscillating the housing about its central axis instead of rotating it thereabout; In the apparatus as thown, a drive pulley 38 driven by drive belt 39 from a suitable power source, is secured to one end of the shaft portions 37 for rotating the housing.

Housing 50 of FIGURES 4 to 6 is supported at one side by the sleeve 51 (FIGURE 6) through which conduit 52 passes into the interior of the housing, permitting the introduction and removal of material to and from the housing during a blending operation. If desired, additional mixing action may be provided within the blending chamber by mixer 53 (FIGURES 5 and 6) driven from a power source by pulley 54 while the housing is rotated by pulley 56. We are not limited to this drive, i.e., we can use sprockets, gears, etc.

The axis of rotation of the cylinder is shown as passing through the circular central opening of the housing an.

equal distance from each end. However, other axis orientations are possible and will give good mixing action. In the broadest sense the axis may be said to pass through any dimension of the housing between its two flattened ends. For instance, the axis of rotation of the blender may extend across the cylindrical girt ring 23 at 45 degrees.

Rotational or oscillatory movement of the blender about any axis provides an intense mixing action to the material within it. Generally the blender wi l be filled up to half full of the materials to be blended. Movemerit of the materials from an elongated mass, through a restricted opening to another elongated mass, causes the materials to be contracted in one direction and expanded in the other. By elongating the masses in diiferent planes, and particularly if the planes are at right angles to one another, the intensity of the blending action is increased.

While the blender may have any suitable dimensions, in the preferred construction, its dimension at right angles to the central axis is preferably greater than along this axis. However, blenders of other dimensions are possible, such as a blender in which the axis of rotation is longer than the end-to-end length of the blender.

Rotation or oscillation of the housing about any axis Patented Feb. 2, 1965 3 r which passes through the cylindrical central opening of the housing causes the materials to pass through this restricted central opening as the material is poured therethrough in either direction. In this movement in which the materials change from amass elongated inone direction to a different mass, preferably elongated in a difierent direction, and with the flow of the material from one end of the vessel to the other, the material is effectively and efficiently blended regardless of the amount of material contained in the blender. Although practically the opening will usually have a circular cross section, this is not necessary. The cross section may be square, star shaped, etc. i

Various changes in details in the arrangement of parts can be made by one skilled in the art without departing from either the spirit to this invention or the scope or the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. A hollow blender which includes two ends substantially parallel to one another and connected by retaining means which tapers from the respective ends toward a restrictive opening formed'by the retaining means, which opening is substantially midway between said ends, said .ends being elongated so that a plane containing one point at each end of one of the respective elongated ends and a third point in the restrictive opening meets a second plane which contains one point at each end of the other elongated end and said point in the restrictive opening, said planes meeting at a substantial angle in a line which passes through said point in the opening.

2. The blender of claim 1 in which the planes are substantially perpendicular to each other and meet in a line which passes through the opening at substantially its center.

3. The blender of claim 2 in which at least one of the ends is provided with an opening with closure means therefor.

4. The blender of claim 1 which includes means for rotating the'blender end-over-end. I V

5. The blender v of claim 1 which includes agitating means therein.

6. The blender of claim 1 which includes conduit means for the transfer of material between the inside and the outside of the blender during a blending operation.

7. The blender of claim 1 in which .a girt band is fastened to the outside of the blender at said opening, and means is attached to the girt band for rotating the blender about a line which extends from one side of the girt band to theother as an axis. 7

8. The blender of claim 1 the interior of which is free 'from bafiles and agitating means.

9. A blender with two substantially flat ends at right angles to one another, with a straight passage from the center of one end to the center of the other end, the blender being mounted to rotate on an axis equidistant from the respective ends, which axis is parallel to one end and at right angles to the other end.

10. The method of blending particulate materials which comprises forming from the materials a generally linear mass thereof across one end of holding means the ends of which are connected with'a straight passageway which tapers toward an intermediate portion having a cross section the longest dimension of which is less. than that of said linear mass, then inverting the holding means and thereby transferring the mass through said intermediate portion to the other end of the said holding means which collects the material as a generally linear mass across the end thereof, both of said masses being of substantially the same length.

11. The method of claim 10 in which said planes pass through points at the ends of said respective generally. linear masses anda pointin said intermediate portion meet in a line which passes through said intermediate portion.

12. The method of claim 11 in which the planes are at right angles to one another and the line in which they meet passes through substantially the center of said intermediate portion.

13. The method of blending particulate materials which comprises forming the material into a substantially horizontal mass at least the bottom portion of which is elongated in one direction and then funneling the mass through an enclosure of restrictive cross section to a mass at least a portion of which is elongated in a direction substantially at right angles to the first direction, the opening being located in line with the midpoints of said mass locations.

14. The method of blending materials in a blender which comprises continually changing the materials from an elongated mass having a shape with a longitudinal axis in one plane to an elongated mass having a shape with a longitudinal axis in a different plane by contracting the mass in one direction and expanding it in a di'licrent direction, and producing the change in the shape of the mass by pouring the mass from the one shape through a restrictiveopening to the other shape within the blender.

15. The method of blending materials which comprises tunneling a mass of particulate material through a restrictive opening from one side thereof to the other, and in such passage altering the shape of the mass from a mass generally elongated in one plane to a substantially parallel mass generally elongated in a different plane, said planes meeting in a line which passes through the opening.

16. The method of blending materials which comprises passing a mass of material from one side of a restrictive opening to the other, and in such-passage altering the shape of themass from a mass with a portion elongated in one plane to a mass with a portion thereof elongated in a plane at right angles to said first-mentioned plane, said planes meeting in a line which is perpendicular to the plane of the opening and passes through its center.

17. The method of blending in which particles are freely and repeatedly moved by gravity in contact with one another from a horizontal mass elongated in one plane, through a restrictive opening to a mass horizontally elongated in a plane at an angle to said first plane, said planes meeting in a line which passes through the opening.

18. The method of claim 17 in which one of said laterally spread rnasses is perpendicular to the other and the mass of particles alternates between one laterally spread mass and the other so that the distance from one end to the other of the laterally spread mass reached at one end of'o ne movement is the same as the distance from one end to the other of the laterally spread mass at the start of the next movement, and at the end of each movement 'from one of said laterally spread masses to the other a l of the particles are collected together in a mass in which 'no cross-sectional dimension is as great as the distance from one end to the other of either of the laterally spread masses. 7

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,496,992 6/24 MacLellan 259-1 2,108,502 2/38 Muench 259 X 2,665,890 l/54 Hall 259-89 2,841,370 7/58 Cosmetto 25989 2,901,227, 8/ 59 Russurn 25989 X 2,915,300 12/59 Fischer 259-85 X FOREIGN PATENTS 642,73 6 5 28 France.

79,450 5/94 Germany.

862,961 3/61 Great Britain.

CHARLES WILLMUTH, Primary Examiner. LEO QUACKENBUSH, Examiner.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No 3 ,168 ,293 February 2, 1965 John S. Eckert It is hereby certified that error appears in the above numbered patent req'liring correction and that the said Letters Patent should read as corrected below.

Column 2, line 6, for "blending" read welding column 3, line 16, for "to" read of column 4 line 10, strike out "mass at least a portion of which is elongated in a direc-" and insert instead substantially horizontal mass at least the bottom portion of which is elongated in a direc- Signed and sealed this 15th day of June 1965 (SEAL) Attest:

ERNEST W. SWIDER V EDWARD J BRENNER Attesting Officer Commissioner of Patents 

1. A HOLLOW BLENDER WHICH INCLUDES TWO ENDS SUBSTANTIALLY PARALLEL TO ONE ANOTHER AND CONNECTED BY RETAINING MEANS WHICH TAPERS FROM THE RESPECTIVE ENDS TOWARD A RESTRICTIVE OPENING FORMED BY THE RETAINING MEANS, WHICH OPENING IS SUBSTANTIALLY MIDWAY BETWEEN SAID ENDS, SAID ENDS BEING ELONGATED SO THAT A PLANE CONTAINING ONE POINT AT EACH END OF ONE OF THE RESPECTIVE ELONGATED ENDS AND A THIRD POINT IN THE RESTRICTIVE OPENING MEETS A SECOND PLANE WHICH CONTAINS ONE POINT AT EACH END OF THE OTHER ELONGATED END AND SAID POINT IN THE RESTRICTIVE OPENING, SAID PLANES MEETING AT A SUBSTANTIAL ANGLE IN A LINE WHICH PASSES THROUGH SAID POINT IN THE OPENING. 